The craziest winnings in the history of casinos

Casino games enjoy great popularity. But why is that? After all, the chances of winning aren’t very high. In general, one could say: The house (casino) always wins, because the gambling system works in such a way that the players do not win in the long run, but lose. One factor that makes gambling, especially casino gambling, so popular is the event itself.

You go out, have a colourful evening and have a lot of fun as long as you don’t have to accept too many losses. The often very chic ambience also contributes to this. All in all, a visit to the casino is a very popular night out. But the main reason why there are so many casino enthusiasts is the reputation of money and the view to the big luck. Just as many people dream of drawing the big ticket with a 6 in the lottery and having it taken care of forever, there are many people whose dream it is to pick up the millions in the casino. But often it remains what it is: just a dream.

As already mentioned, the chances of winning are very low, and the big win is therefore very unlikely. This does not mean, however, that winnings are generally excluded, one should only not approach with the thought of gambling to enrich oneself. However, the legendary millionjackpots are not completely absurd. In the following, we will show you the most spectacular casino winnings of all time.

MGM Grand (Las Vegas, NV): 20-40 million US dollars

One night in Las Vegas, Australian billionaire Kerry Packer (who at the time of his death in 2005 was in first place on the list of the richest people in the country with assets of $6.5 billion) decided to play Baccarat and Blackjack out of curiosity. That night he won between 20 and 40 million dollars (the exact number of his biggest win in Las Vegas is unknown as there were several). Kerry started donating money immediately after his winning streak at the MGM Grand. For example, the tip of the head waiter and the waitress who served him was up to $1,000,000. Some charitable organizations also enjoyed a generous donation.

Excalibur (Las Vegas, NV): US$39.7 million

In March 2003, a 25-year-old engineer from Los Angeles came to Vegas to bet on his favourite basketball team. A few hours before the game, he decided to spend some time at the famous Excalibur Casino in Las Vegas. The young man went to the slot machines and then it happened. He spent a total of $100 when the jackpot sign appeared on the screen, and the music began to play. This is one of the biggest winnings in Vegas and amounts to a phenomenal 39,713,982.25 USD. This can be compared to the average winnings of the entire venue for a month. The winner decided to keep his name secret so that he would be remembered as a “young engineer”. Also, he asked Excalibur’s management not to transfer the winnings immediately, but to transfer about $1,500,000 annually to his account.

Palace Station (Las Vegas, NV): 680,000 USD and more than 27 million USD

Sometimes being persistent pays off. A 60-year-old woman won $680,000 on a wheel of a fortune slot machine. However, the woman did not spend the money. She continued to play and used the money to finance her casino visits. She invested, so to speak, all her casino winnings in her gaming activity. It didn’t take long, and her “investments” brought a super win – she won the jackpot on the Megabucks slot of 27,000,000 US dollars.

Mirage (Las Vegas, NV): USD 21 million and USD 4.6 million respectively

It’s almost impossible to win a million dollars. However, some people have done it twice. Elmer Sherwin, a veteran of the Second World War, was 76 years old when he hit a jackpot of 4.6 million dollars. It happened ten hours after the opening of the Mirage Casino. Elmer spent the money on a trip around the world. After such a happy occasion, he continued to visit venues regularly – twice a week. Sixteen years passed, and this time he hit the jackpot again. This time it was a whopping 21 million dollars. The veteran did not spend most of his second victory on himself, but on charity: he helped the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Caesar, Borgata and Tropicana Casinos (Atlantic City): US$ 15 million

From December 2010 to April 2011, Don Johnson won $15 million at three Atlantic City casinos and was nicknamed “The Killer from Atlantic City” by casino owners. When Johnson opted for such a great game, he asked the casino manager to introduce some rules that reduce the advantage of a gambling house. One of the rules was to compensate 20% of a player’s losses if they were at least $500,000. They say the manager ignored the calculations and accepted Don’s terms. By the way, the carefree manager was finally dismissed. Some suspicious observers of Johnson’s triumph at the casino argued that the lucky player used a banal card count. Also, he shared his secrets of a successful game. According to Johnson, there are only two rules that have helped him win astronomical sums in blackjack. The first rule is the need to know the diagrams of the basic blackjack strategy and to have basic mathematical skills. The second secret is a loose attitude towards profit and loss.

Gold Coast (Las Vegas, NV): 12 million US dollars

In 1996, postal clerk John Tippin came to Las Vegas for a vacation and set a world record by winning a $12 million megabuck jackpot. However, his life did not change for the better. He spent all his money on luxury, women and drugs. In 2001, John published a book telling how he went from a jet setter to a loser and alcoholic. Mr. Tippin warns those who believe that a big win will solve all their problems. The book is a fascinating read and also shows the downsides of winning.

Race track and resort at Mountaineer Casino (Chester, WV): 3.7 million US dollars

On June 7, 2006, Beverly Whitten probably believed that her life was coming to an end: she had recently retired after a 38-year teaching career. But almost a week later, on June 15th, Beverly realized that life was beginning! She hit the $3,718,311 jackpot! She played a slot machine called “Golden Chambers” for two hours and won. Whitten didn’t know where to spend so much money, so she asked the casino to pay her in instalments – $1,945 a month.

Casino (London): 1.6 million dollars

Newcastle United Football Club’s English billionaire Mike Ashley visited the most famous casino, Fifty, in 2008. Being a busy man who appreciated his time, Ashley decided not to play more than 15 minutes of roulette. He publicly stated that he would bet only once on a certain number – on the 17th Mike Ashley immediately won $1.6 million. After Ashley’s money was paid out, he thanked the casino staff and left.

Monte Carlo Casino (Monaco): 1 million francs

A famous roulette player, Charles Wells, has dreamed all his life of wealth and incredible popularity. He spent all his money on roulette.
It was Charles Wells, who became known as the man who took the bank in Monte Carlo for their money and his name went down in the history of gambling.
As early as July 1891, he went to Monte Carlo to play on a roulette wheel. He was immediately addicted to gambling and borrowed money from the bank. Wells’ game lasted eleven hours, and within that time he managed to hit the jackpot twelve times. The casino did not have enough chips for such high winnings. He finally left the casino with a winning amount of about one million francs.

If, after reading the numbers, you now feel like trying your luck and maybe winning the jackpot to live a carefree life, you can do so online from the comfort of your own home. At, e.g. Casinosecret, users will find a huge selection of casino games. There is something for every taste from poker, blackjack and baccarat, to slots and tournament games. In the tournaments, the users usually play for a jackpot and have to buy a certain amount to participate. You will also receive a 100% welcome bonus on this website.

Conclusion

Always remember what you said at the beginning: The chances of winning are low. So if you want to play yourself, do it for your own good with responsibility. Set yourself a limit, for example, on how much money you want to bet in a certain period. This amount should only be as high as you can actually afford. If necessary, check your finances beforehand and do not use more money than what you can certainly do without.